


So Many Unanswered Questions

by gayspacepilots



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-21
Updated: 2016-10-11
Packaged: 2018-08-16 13:32:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8104291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gayspacepilots/pseuds/gayspacepilots
Summary: Hikaru had a relatively simple life, that was until he enrolled in Starfleet and everything went downhill.





	1. Symphony Serenade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nyota takes Hikaru out to take a break from their studies and Hikaru meets his future husband.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, so this story took me a long time to finish, but finally, it's done and I can upload it now. This story comes from [these](http://whatthebuckybarnes.tumblr.com/post/148217443080/i-just-have-so-many-questions-about-sulu-and) headcanons from [whatthebuckybarnes](http://whatthebuckybarnes.tumblr.com). She's super sweet and I'd recommend checking out her blog. 
> 
> This chapter includes the following numbers from her prompts list.  
> 1.) how did they meet? was it through botany? was it through friends?  
> 2.) did they start liking each other immediately or were they friends first?  
> 3.) or did ben take one look at hikaru in his cadet reds and was like “yep this is the man i’m going to marry”  
> 4.) (does he like the cadet reds, is what i’m asking)  
> 5.) who asked the other out? who admitted his feelings first? who kissed the other first? who said i love you the first?  
> 9.) did they meet before the events of the first reboot movie?
> 
> I hope you'll like it!!

Hikaru had a relatively simple life, that was, until he enrolled in Starfleet and everything went downhill. He did extremely well academically, but mentally, he was exhausted. He was just approaching his second year midterms and he had spent all of his free time in the library, staring at his PADDs. 

“You need a break,” Nyota whispered to him from across the library table.

“No, I need to study,” He argued, rubbing at his temples, “I’ll fail if I don’t.”

Nyota scoffed, “Oh please, you’re at the top of all your classes except the mandatory engineering classes that all cadets have to take. You’ll do fine, now come on!” She got up from her chair and dragged him away by the shoulder, “I’m tired of my nerdy best friend obsessing over studying.”

 

“Where are we?” Hikaru complained, fiddling with his black tie and white dress shirt sleeves. He was also wearing a grey vest and a pair of black denim. 

“Oh, stop whining,” Nyota groaned. She was wearing a red strapless dress with matching stilettos. “We’re at a live orchestra outside.” She explained as she sat down in the second row, gesturing for Hikaru to sit next to her. “It’s an hour long concert that is composed by a 19 year old from New Jersey.”

Hikaru’s eyes widened, “He’s our age?”

Nyota rolled her eyes, “He’s your age, might I remind you I am 23?”

“Right, I always forget that you’re older than me. Sorry,” Hikaru apologized.

“Well, maybe you can go schmooze and make googly eyes with ‘Jersey’ while I watch the concert.” 

Hikaru laughed, swinging an arm around Nyota’s shoulders, “Don’t worry, I’m not going to go flirting with random guys.”

“You better not,” She warned, but smiled anyways.

 

\----- _After the concert_ \-----

 

“Holy shit!” Hikaru murmured, “That was incredible.”

“I told you it would be good,” Nyota grinned, getting up from her chair, prompting Hikaru to do the same.

“It was so good,” Hikaru moaned, “It was even better than sex.”

“Well I’m glad you liked it!” A voice, from behind them, spoke.

 

Hikaru screamed, clutching at his vest.

“Oh gosh! I’m sorry!” The voice soothed, “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“That’s okay,” Hikaru said, laughing it off. He spun around to face the voice and, “Oh, shit. He’s beautiful.”

The man smiled, blushing slightly, “I’m Ben Jeong.” He offered Hikaru his hand.

“Hikaru Sulu,” He answered, taking Ben’s hand.

“Wait a minute!” Nyota interjected, “You’re Ben Jeong? You wrote the music that the orchestra just played.”

Ben blushed slightly, “Uh yeah, that’s me. It’s nice to meet you Hikaru and...”

“Nyota.”

“If I may ask, what brought you to my concert?” Ben asked, letting go of Hikaru’s hand, that he realized he never let go of. 

“To free ourselves from the Academy,” Hikaru answered.

Ben’s eyes widened, “You’re cadets?”

“Yeah, second years.” Nyota replied, handing Ben a PADD with Nyota and Hikaru in their cadet reds. “Oh no,” Ben thought to himself, “I thought Hikaru was gorgeous when he was just watching my concert. But he is outstanding in his cadet reds.” Ben blushed hard and turned his head away from the PADD.

“How about I buy you guys a drink?” Ben offered.

Nyota shook her head, “I’m fine, I was about to head back to my dorm...but,” She paused to shove Hikaru in Ben’s direction, “I’m sure Hikaru would love to have a drink with you.”

Hikaru gave Nyota a look of, “What are you doing? Don’t leave me alone with this stunning man!” 

Nyota rolled her eyes. “You’ll be fine, just look at how much he’s blushing,” She telepathically communicated back.

“Well, I’ll leave you two alone,” Nyota sung, “See you in class tomorrow, Hikaru!” She turned around and walked down the sidewalk.

 

 

“So...” Ben began, “I know a cute little cafe where I work on my symphonies. Are you interested?”

Hikaru beamed, grabbing Ben’s hand, “It sounds incredible.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what did you think? Since I, and many other people wrote them meeting through botany, I decided to do something different. Please let me know what you thought and will be uploading the next chapter soon. I love all of you and I hope you will enjoy this little story.
> 
> Thanks again to [whatthebuckybarnes](http://whatthebuckybarnes.tumblr.com) for her lovely prompts. She's super sweet and I can't thank her enough for allowing me to write this story.


	2. Falling In Love With A Starfleet Pilot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Hikaru and Ben's cafe date, the two men spend some time together and it isn't long before they start falling for each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains the following numbers from [whatthebuckybarnes's](http://whatthebuckybarnes.tumblr.com) Ben and Hikaru tumblr prompts.  
> 5.) who asked the other out? who admitted his feelings first? who kissed the other first? who said i love you the first?  
> 6.) do they have pet names for each other??? if so WHAT WHAT WHAT
> 
> The whole list of her tumblr prompts can be found [here](http://whatthebuckybarnes.tumblr.com/post/148217443080/i-just-have-so-many-questions-about-sulu-and).

“I had a lot of fun Hikaru,” Ben whispered, standing outside of Hikaru’s dorm room. 

“Me too,” Hikaru answered, “I’d love to attend another concert of yours.”

Ben smiled, “Well, I would love some company to sit with. I usually end up sitting alone in the front row, crammed between a bunch of critics and press that I don’t like.”

Hikaru laughed, “I’d love to keep you company.”

“Well, I better get back to my apartment,” Ben sighed, squeezing Hikaru’s hand. He didn’t want to go, but he knew he had to.

“Is there anyway I can convince you to stay?” Hikaru asked, his eyes going soft.

“I would love to but I need to meet with a bunch of interviewers tomorrow morning. I have to get up super early and I wouldn’t want to wake you.”

“I wouldn’t care,” Hikaru hummed.

Ben chuckled, “Well that’s very sweet, Hikaru. How about I give you a little something before I go?” Before Hikaru could say anything, Ben leaned forward and kissed Hikaru on the lips. Hikaru immediately leaned up into the kiss and wrapped his arms around Ben’s neck. Ben’s hands slid down to rest on Hikaru’s hips before moving to the small of Hikaru’s back.   
When they separated, they were both out of breath. Hikaru grabbed Ben’s collar and dragged him into his room, “There’s no way I’m letting you leave after that.” Ben laughed, happily following Hikaru to his bed.

  
  


Ben woke up to sunlight, bright sunlight. When he opened his eyes, Hikaru was leaning overtop of him. “Morning,” He greeted, kissing Ben’s lips.

Ben smiled, “Good morning sunshine.”

“What time did you have to go to that interview?” Hikaru asked, sitting on the edge of the bed. Ben rubbed his eyes and sat up. They were both still wearing their clothes from last night.

“Uh, the interview is at 09:00, but it’s in L.A and I had arranged for a hovercar to pick me up.” 

Hikaru winced, “Uh, oops.”

Ben titled his head to the side, “What’s wrong?”

“It’s 10:13,” Hikaru spoke, “You’re more than a little late for your interview.”

Ben shrugged, “Don’t worry about it.”

“What!? What do you mean don’t worry about it?”

“Hikaru!” Ben laughed, shaking the man’s shoulders, “It’s just some interview. I’m going to have a hundred more next year. It’s not a problem if I miss one.” Ben leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“Plus,” Ben added, “I would much rather spend my time with you than bored out of my mind at some interview.”

Hikaru blushed, leaning his head on Ben’s shoulder. “I think I love you.” He murmured.

“I love you too,” Ben replied, wrapping his arms around Hikaru and pulling him back onto the bed. Hikaru let out a high-pitched shriek.

“You’re adorable,” Ben mumbled into Hikaru’s neck.

“You’re gorgeous,” Hikaru mumbled back. 

“Do you feel it?” Ben asked, “The warm feeling in your chest and stomach?”

Hikaru smiled, “Yeah, I do.”

 

\----- _2 Years Later_ \-----

 

Hikaru was only three months into his last year at the academy and he was still together with Ben. Ever since their first date, the two had fallen hard for each other. Within 6 weeks, Hikaru had moved in with Ben and helped him prepare dinner when he returned from the academy. Ben would always greet him with a, “Welcome home, sunshine,” And a kiss. Hikaru would laugh and reply, “It’s good to be home, Maestro.”

They were curled up together on the couch, Hikaru didn’t have classes today and he was looking forward to spending the whole day with Ben.

“Last time you saw the sunset?” Hikaru asked, nuzzling Ben’s neck.

“Two weeks ago, just after the press conference I did in Chicago.” Ben answered, playing with Hikaru’s hair. “The first time you went on a road trip?”

“My parents took my sister, my brother and me to visit some relatives in New York for the summer.” Hikaru mumbled, “I believe I was...six, so that was 15 years ago.”

 

Ben laughed, “You should have stopped in New Jersey, to meet me.”

Hikaru rolled his eyes, “You wouldn’t want to meet 6 year old Hikaru. I was constantly picked on for my interest in plants and fencing.”

“Oh, ‘Ru,” Ben cried, pulling Hikaru towards his chest and gave him a kiss, “You should have come to Jersey, I would have hung out with you. I could share my music with you and you could tell me about your plants.”

Hikaru smiled, “Well, I’ve got you now, so everything worked out in the end.”

“Well, how about I-” Ben was cut off as Hikaru’s PADD beeped. “You should probably get that,” Ben answered, lightly shoving at Hikaru’s shoulders. 

“But I don’t want to!” He complained.

“Hikaru, just answer it,” Ben argued, rubbing at his temples.

Hikaru moaned loudly as he rolled off of Ben to grab his PADD from the coffee table. He turned on his PADD and checked his messages. He had one notification from Starfleet Command, he tapped the notification and waited for it to load.

 

“All Starfleet cadets are ordered to report to the Academy Board’s trial of James T Kirk, for his actions concerning the Kobayashi Maru.”

Hikaru set his PADD down, “Oh no,” He let out.

“What is it?” Ben asked, sitting up and walking over to Hikaru.

“Jim’s being held for trial and I need to attend it.”

Ben’s eyes went wide. “Really? That can’t be good. What did he do?”

Hikaru shrugged, “I’m not sure, it says something about the Kobayashi Maru, but nothing more than that.”

Do you know when you’ll be back?” Ben asked.

“No, but I’m sure I’ll be back soon,” Hikaru answered, giving Ben a long kiss on the lips.

Ben smiled and purred, “I’ll be waiting for you.”

Hikaru giggled, picking up his PADD, “I’ll be back soon, it shouldn’t be more than a couple of hours.”

They shared one more kiss before Hikaru left the apartment with a, “Goodbye, Ben!”

 

\----- _Ben’s P.O.V: 40 Minutes Later_ \-----

 

Ben was sitting on the balcony when his PADD beeped. He picked it up and smiled when he saw he had a message from Hikaru. His smile fell when he read his message. “Vulcan has sent us a distress call. The rest of the fleet is in another quadrant and is weeks away at warp speed. So, Starfleet is sending me and the rest of the cadets to help Vulcan.”

Ben sighed, he was terrified. Yes, Hikaru was at the top of his class but he was still a cadet and so was everyone else that was being sent to Vulcan.

His PADD beeped again, “I’ve been assigned to the Farragut. I’m so excited!!”

Ben smiled, he wished that he could be there to see Hikaru’s expression when he got his assignment. Ben typed out a quick, “That’s great, baby! I’m so proud of you!”

“Wait!” Hikaru typed back, “The helmsman on the Enterprise has lungworm and they asked me to take her place.” Several seconds passed before four more messages popped up on Ben’s PADD. 

“I’m the new pilot of the USS Enterprise!”

“Holy shit!”

“Oh man...”

“Okay, now I’m starting to feel a little nervous.”

Ben felt his heart ache in his chest, “Don’t worry, you’ll do great! Just like you always do.” He typed back.

“Thanks Ben,” Hikaru answered.

“Be safe out there, okay?”

“I will, I promise.”

“I love you ‘Ru,” Ben wrote with watery eyes.

“I love you too, Maestro,” Hikaru answered immediately, “It looks so beautiful out here. In space.”

“Can you take a picture for me?” Ben asked. There was a pause before Hikaru answered again, “I just took some, I’m sending them to you now.”

Ben opened the files, there were three picture of the starbase and seven of the stars outside Earth’s orbit. “It’s incredible,” Ben wrote, “You’re so lucky. You’ve earned this Hikaru.”

“All these stars, but they don’t compare to the star that I’ve got at home.” Hikaru wrote back. 

Tears rolled down Ben’s face, “When did you become such a poet?”

“I’ve always enjoyed poetry, but this is the first time I’ve written my own.”

“It’s beautiful,” Ben beamed, “Thank you.”

“Our shuttle is docking. I have to go.”

“I’ll see you later!”

“Make me dinner?”

“Anything for you, sunshine.”


	3. Panicked Messages and Reassuring Video Calls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains the following prompts from [whatthebuckybarnes's](http://whatthebuckybarnes.tumblr.com) headcanons which can be found [here](http://whatthebuckybarnes.tumblr.com/post/148217443080/i-just-have-so-many-questions-about-sulu-and).  
> 6.) do they have pet names for each other??? if so WHAT WHAT WHAT  
> 7.) does hikaru keep his usual cool calm demeanor around ben or is he really obviously completely besotted? or BOTH???  
> 10.) if so, was ben stuck on earth for possibly days glued to his PADD trying to find out something, anything about the attack on Vulcan, not knowing if his boyfriend was alive or not???  
> 11.) did he send him messages desperately trying to find out if he was okay, if he was alive, or did he not, afraid he was never going to get a response?  
> 12.) what did hikaru say to him when he could finally contact him? what do even you say to someone you thought you were about to watch die
> 
> I hope you like it!!

It had been hours since Ben had heard from Hikaru about the distress signal from Vulcan. He hadn’t heard back from him since then. The only information he had on Vulcan was from the brief description Starfleet Command sent out to the public. Apparently Vulcan had been attacked and the senior cadets were sent out to assist Vulcan when the rest of the fleet was unable to. Starfleet had also lost communication with all but one starship. 

Ben was nervously pacing back and forth in the living room. He sent Hikaru a hundred messages, asking him, “Are you okay?” 

“What happened?”

“Is the fleet okay?”

“Is the Enterprise okay?”

“Where are you?”

“Are you alive?”

Ben had no idea if the messages made it to Hikaru’s PADD, he had no way of knowing, unless Hikaru messaged him back.

 

_ Beep Beep Beep _

Ben’s head snapped to where his PADD was lying on the table. He launched himself forwards and grabbed his PADD.

 

_ 1 New Message: Starfleet Command _

He unlocked his PADD and he paled when he read the message. “USS Enterprise reports that a giant Romulan ship attacked and destroyed Vulcan. The rest of the fleet was destroyed defending Vulcan and more than 1200 people are confirmed dead, 17 from the Enterprise. The Enterprise reports that the Romulan ship is headed for Earth.”

“Oh god,” Ben choked out, holding his head in his hands, “Oh please don’t be dead Hikaru. Please, please, please be okay.”

 

Almost immediately after Ben finished reading the message, he heard a deafening screech of metal outside. He approached the balcony window and saw a giant ship that was lowering a large metal device towards Earth’s surface.

“Oh no,” Ben whispered, “That can’t be good.” 

He watched in fear, unable to move. “Hikaru, where are you?” He thought to himself. 

“I need you.”

 

\----- _3 Hours Later-----  
_

 

Luckily for Ben, and everyone else on Earth, the Romulans were stopped and sent away from Earth. But Ben was still worried, he had not heard from Hikaru and there was no word from Starfleet. He desperately tried to distract himself, he started by brewing a cup of tea, but it sat on the table, forgotten. He tried to write a new piece for his symphony, but writing was stressful enough on it’s own. Never mind when he was worried about his boyfriend and whether or not he was still alive. 

He gave up and leaned against the balcony railing and let his mind wander. “I wonder where Hikaru is. I hope he’s okay.” 

_ “And if he isn’t?” _ His subconscious asked him.

“Well, if he’s injured, I’ll stay by his side until he’s better. If he’s...dead, then I will mourn, I will cry and I’ll always remember him.”

_ “What if he contacts you?”  _

“Then I’ll be thrilled, I’ll hug him and love him and hold him tight against me.”

_ “Where do you see your future together?”  _

“I love him, that much has always been clear to me and I don’t see a life without him by my side.”

_ “How will you react when and if he comes home?” _

“I think, but I’m not sure about this...I think I’m going to ask him to marry me.”

_ “Really? You’re only been together for 2 years?” _

“Well, after this and what has happened and all the people we’ve lost, I don’t want to wait anymore. I want to show him how much I love him before he leaves for space again. I want to marry him before he’s gone into space and I can’t marry him.”

 

\----- _Hikaru’s POV: Present_ \-----

 

Hikaru let out a sigh of relief. The Enterprise and her crew had just barely escaped being sucked into a black hole. He leaned back in his chair, exhausted. However, since they had ejected their warp core, the fastest they could travel was warp factor 3 at a speed of 480. Meaning that it would take the Enterprise 12 days to get back to earth.    


He just wanted to contact Ben, to let him know that he was alright. He had been stuck on the bridge, flying back to earth for almost 20 hours and he was dying to get a break.

“Mr. Sulu?” A voice spoke from behind him. 

He turned around to see Captain Kirk standing there. “Yes, Captain?”

“You’re relieved, go get some rest.”

“I’m fine, I can keep working.” Hikaru protested.

Kirk pointed a finger at him, “That’s an order, Mr. Sulu.”

Hikaru groaned but lifted himself out of his chair and towards the turbolift.

“Go get some sleep,” Kirk added, clapping him on the back.

Hikaru stumbled his way to his quarters. Once he keyed in his code and the door swooshed open and he collapsed on top of his bed, exhausted. 

 

Hikaru woke up 5 hours later to the sound of his PADD going off. Groaning, he dragged himself out of bed and towards his desk. Without paying much attention, he answered the call and waited for it to connect.

 

\----- _Ben’s P.O.V: Present_ \-----

 

“Come on Hikaru,” Ben pleaded into the quiet apartment. “Please answer. Please answer my call. Just let me know you’re alive. Please let me know that you’re okay.”

He stared at his PADD, hoping that his partner would answer his call. He almost had a heart attack when Hikaru’s tired face appeared on the screen.

“Hikaru!” Ben sobbed. He took a deep breath before sighing, “Oh thank god...”

Hikaru’s eyes snapped open upon hearing Ben’s voice, “Ben! You’re okay! I was so worried.”

Ben laughed, “You were worried? Hikaru, I was terrified. You disappear on some weird mission that Starfleet refused to speak about and I’m left to wonder if you’re alive or dead.” 

Hikaru’s heart sank, “I’m so sorry Ben. Our warp drive had to be ejected so we didn’t get sucked into a black hole. So it’s going to take us 11 days and 4 more hours to get home. Also, I was stuck on the bridge for 20 hours until I could leave. After that, I was so exhausted, I immediately fell asleep and I didn’t get the chance to contact you.”

 

Hikaru let out a yawn before adding, “I’m sorry sweetheart.”

“Oh Hikaru, don’t worry about it,” Ben soothed, wiping the tears from his face. “I’m just happy that you’re alive. I’m grateful I get to see your smiling face again.”

“I’m glad to see you too,” Hikaru answered, “I would be devastated if I returned and something had happened to you.”

“Well, I see that you got into some trouble,” Ben chuckled, pointing at the cuts on Hikaru’s cheek and forehead.

Hikaru chuckled back, “Yeah, I got punched by a Romulan, but then I set him on fire.”

Ben, shocked, asked, “You set him on fire?” 

“Well, technically I kicked him into a giant fire and he was incinerated. But it’s the same idea.”

Ben scoffed, “You’re insane, I’m dating a crazy man.”

“I thought that was pretty clear when we first started dating,” Hikaru laughed.

Ben rolled his eyes, “Well, crazy or not, I still love you and I can’t wait to see you when you get home.”

“I love you too,” Hikaru sighed.

 

They talked for hours until their conversation dwindled to a close.

“I can’t believe I still have 8 more months of Academy training to go through when I get home. I feel like piloting a starship while defeating a bunch of angry Romulans is enough qualification to run a starship.”

“Then when you get back to the academy, prove that to them!” Ben smiled, “Prove that you are smart enough to be on a starship, because you’ve already done it.”

Hikaru laughed before yawning, “I hate to do this to you, but I’m practically falling asleep at my desk. And if I don’t get any sleep right now, I’m going to fall asleep on my console and kill everyone on this ship.”

“Yeah, get some sleep, ‘Ru.” Ben murmured, “You need it.”

“I love you Ben.”

“I love you too, orchid.”

Hikaru blushed, he loved when Ben called him orchid. It made him flustered and giddy. And Ben loved how happy Hikaru got whenever he called him orchid, so he tried to call him that as much as he could. Their friends thought that it was adorable whenever they would exchange their little pet names.

 

_\-----1 Year Ago-----_

 

_ “Hmmm, I’m not sure.” Nyota sighed into her menu. _

_ “What do you you want, orchid?” Ben asked innocently, kissing Hikaru’s cheek. _

_ Hikaru flushed red from head to toe and the whole table looked up in shock. _

_ “Well laddie, ‘at has tae the cutest thing anyone has ever said.” _

_ “Oh yeah, just vait until zhey have kids,” Pavel added, “Can you imagine how cute zat vould be?” _

_ “Yeah, it be like them having you as their child.” Nyota spoke, ruffling the 16 year old’s curls. _

_ Pavel slapped her hand lightly, “Stop that! If you vant to bother anyone, bother zhem.” Pavel answered, pointing at Hikaru and Ben. _

 

_ “Oh leave them alone,” Bones complained, as he watched the two of them turn bright red, “They’re adorable, let them be.” _

_ “Calm down Bones,” Jim chuckled, “We’re just kidding!” _

_ “If anymore of you continue this ‘kidding’ you’ll all be waking up in quarantine tomorrow with no memory of this night.” _

_ “Jim, I think it would be logical if you stopped teasing Hikaru and his partner.” _

_ “I have a name!” Ben interjected. _

_ “Don’t agree with me Spock, it makes me very uncomfortable.” _

 

_ “Alright, Is everyone ready to order?” An orion waitress asked. _

_ “NO!” They all spoke in unison. _

 

_\-----Present-----_

 

“I’ll call you tomorrow.” Hikaru answered.

“You better,” Ben threatened, with no force behind it, “It’s the least you can do after promising you’d be back in a few hours.”

Hikaru chuckled as he rubbing his neck awkwardly, “Sorry, I’ll be home as soon as possible. I’ll let you know when we’re getting close to earth.”

“Alright, I’ll talk to you soon!” Ben sighed happily.

 

“Goodnight Maestro,” Hikaru cooed.

“Goodnight Orchid.”

 

\----- _A little less than 9 days later_ \-----

 

Hikaru was bouncing in his seat, finally after almost 10 days of travelling, he was finally home. “Ben,” He thought as earth came into view on his console and the viewscreen on the bridge. He sighed, “I’m home.”

Since the Enterprise had arrived slightly earlier than they had expected, he did not tell Ben he was arriving a day early because he wanted to surprise the man. They hadn’t seen each other in almost 11 days and Hikaru was dying to see his boyfriend again.

“Mr. Sulu, are you okay over there?” Kirk asked from his Captain’s chair. 

Hikaru smiled and replied simply, “I’m just happy to be home.”

Kirk smiled from behind him, “I know how you feel.”

 

As soon as the shuttle landed, Hikaru shot up from his seat and ran out of the Academy’s shuttle bay. He ran all the way to their apartment complex. He entered the code to get him into the building and he waited while the elevator took him to his floor.

 

\----- _Ben’s P.O.V: Present_ \-----

 

Ben was busy writing his latest symphonic masterpiece. It was something he had put off doing for several days, but he finally had some downtime to work on it. He had a brilliant idea for it and it was all inspired by the love of his life, his partner, Hikaru. If all went well and Hikaru accepted his proposal, this new symphony would be Ben’s wedding gift to Hikaru. 

 

Ben was so focused on his work that he didn’t even hear the front door open.

 

\----- _Hikaru’s P.O.V: Present_ \-----

 

Hikaru stepped into the apartment and closed the door behind him. The apartment was oddly quiet, usually Ben would have music or a movie playing, even if it was only in the background. 

“Ben?!” Hikaru called into the apartment.

 

In the other room, Ben heard Hikaru’s voice and was struggling to quietly put away his secret symphony for his future fiancé without him finding out. Moments later, Ben emerged from his office. He walked into the hallway and was startled when Hikaru ran up to him and tackled him with all of his weight.

“Ben!” Hikaru screeched, standing on his toes to nuzzle into Ben’s neck. “I missed you,” He murmured. 

Ben laughed and kissed Hikaru’s head multiple times, “I missed you too, ‘Ru.”

“It’s good to see you again.”

“Why didn’t you tell me, you were coming home early?” Ben asked, leaving a line of kisses down Hikaru’s face, under his chin and down his neck. 

Hikaru smiled lightly, “I wanted to surprise you.”

 

Ben smiled back, “Then allow me to surprise you too.” Ben broke away from Hikaru and kneeled down in front of him. He grabbed both of Hikaru’s hands in his own and took a deep breath, before looking into Hikaru’s eyes. 

“Hikaru, I love you and after what just happened...I don’t want to wait anymore.”

“Ben, what are you-”

“Please, let me finish,” Ben interrupted, squeezing Hikaru’s hands. When Hikaru nodded, Ben continued, “I thought you were dead and I don’t want that to happen before I ask you the most important question that I will ever say.”

One more deep breath, “Hikaru, will you marry me?” Ben asked, looking up at the man with nervous, curious eyes. 

It took Hikaru several moments to get through his shocked state and register what Ben had said. But once his brain made that connection, he smiled brightly and launched himself at the man on the floor. He kissed him more times than he could count, all while repeating, “Yes Ben, yes! Of course I will! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!”

Ben eventually, to his disappointment, broke away from Hikaru to mumble a, “I’m sorry, I don’t have a ring. This was kind of a recent idea that I had and I wasn’t sure how you would react.”

Hikaru laughed, before wrapping himself around Ben, again. “Oh Ben,” He cooed, “I don’t care about some dumb ring. I’m thrilled that I’m your fiancé and that you’re mine.”

“Really?” Ben breathed.

“Yeah,” Hikaru answered, giving Ben a long kiss on the lips.

 

“Now, what do you say we break in our bed as an engaged couple?” Hikaru asked, dragged Ben back into the bedroom.

“I think I’m going to enjoy being married to you,” Ben hummed as he let himself be dragged into bed by his  fiancé.

 

\----- _30 Minutes Later-----_

 

“I can’t believe I’m going to be a husband.” They both thought before falling asleep for the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The information regarding the warp drive and the speed the Enterprise is traveling comes from [this](http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Warp_factor#Warp_factor_vs._average_speed) warp factor chart. I appologize if it doesn't make any sense, but I like adding technical babble into my stories. 
> 
> Please go check out whatthebuckybarnes on [tumblr](http://whatthebuckybarnes.tumblr.com), she's super sweet and has an amazing tumblr blog.


	4. Our Final Goodbyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is mostly filler for the rest of Hikaru's Academy months. It doesn't contain any of [whatthebuckybarnes's](http://whatthebuckybarnes.tumblr.com) tumblr prompts. But this story is based off of all of them.  
> Her prompt list can be found [here](http://whatthebuckybarnes.tumblr.com/post/148217443080/i-just-have-so-many-questions-about-sulu-and).

Hikaru woke up on the floor, with a throbbing headache and vague memories of the previous night. He could remember feeling nervous as he and Ben stood in front of their friends and family. He couldn’t remember his own vows, but he could remember Ben’s. He remembered dancing with his new husband on the same stage Hikaru heard Ben’s music for the first time. 

But he could not remember why he was on the floor. Groaning, he slowly sat up and rubbed at his eyes. He heard a voice chuckle in front of him. “Wow, talk about getting up on the wrong side of the bed.”

Hikaru smiled, “When did you become such a comedian?” 

“I picked it up when you left for space,” Ben joked as he helped Hikaru to his feet and onto the bed.

“I was only gone for twelve days,” Hikaru laughed, “You became a comedian in less than twelve days?”

Ben smirked, “Well, what can I say...I’m gifted.”

 

“Oh!” Ben shrieked, “Speaking of gifts, I totally forgot about your gift.”

“My gift?” Hikaru asked, “You got me a gift?”

“Well, kind of,” Ben blushed, rubbing at his neck, “I wrote you a song.”

Hikaru lit up, “You wrote me something?” He asked as he reached out and grabbed Ben’s hands. 

“Yeah, I didn’t have time to get my orchestra to play it, but I did finish writing it.”

“Well, let me know once they’re finished rehearsing that so I can enjoy my wedding gift from my husband.”

“I will, don’t you worry,” Ben murmured.

“When did you have time to work on that?” Hikaru asked, curling up into Ben’s side. 

Ben chuckled, “Actually, I was working on it while you were gone. I had to hide it from you, so you didn’t find it when it was still in progress.”

“How dare you,” Hikaru spoke, pretending to be offended, “How dare you dare keep secrets from your husband?”

Ben laughed, giving Hikaru a kiss, “We weren’t husbands at the time and it’s not hard to keep secrets from you.”

Hikaru stared at Ben, shocked. 

“I’m kidding,” Ben answered, holding his hands up in surrender. “I could never keep a secret from you,” He added, giving his husband a kiss.

 

\----- _Hikaru’s P.O.V: 6 Months Later_ \-----

 

Hikaru was almost finished at the Academy. Only 5 more weeks and he would be done, done forever and would never have to go back. He was ecstatic, he was so close to being able to fly a starship again. He was so close to picking up his belongings and launching himself into space.

 

He only had one regret about that, he would he leaving his husband, his light behind. Ben always told him that Hikaru is a star and he should be among them. But Hikaru still didn’t like the idea of leaving Ben alone. He wished that he could take Ben with him, but that wasn’t possible. 

“Hey,” Ben murmured, “What’s on your mind?”

Hikaru didn’t answer.

Ben, concerned, kneeled in front of Hikaru on the couch and held his hands in his own. “Hey,” He cooed, “What’s wrong? You seem troubled.”

“I can’t believe that I’ll be leaving so soon.” Hikaru mumbled.

Ben sighed, “‘Ru, we talked about this.”

“I know, I know. But that’s not going to change that I feel guilty about leaving you on your own.”

“But I won’t be alone,” Ben answered, “I’ve got the rest of our family here, I’ve got my friends and I’ve got my conductor and my musicians.” Ben pulled Hikaru against his chest, “I’ll be fine Hikaru, don’t worry about me. I’m just as safe here as you are out there. We’ll be alright, don’t you worry.”

“I’m going to miss you when I’m out there.” Hikaru smiled, resting his head on Ben’s shoulder. 

“I’m going to miss you too,” Ben replied. 

“Will you write me a symphony while I’m gone?” Hikaru laughed, looking up at his husband.

Ben laughed with him, “Anything for you, sunlight.”

 

\----- _Ben’s P.O.V: 5 Weeks Later_ \-----

 

Ben had never been so proud, he was beaming from his seat as he watched Hikaru join the rest of the graduating cadets. Hikaru graduated at the top of his class in astro-sciences and advanced botany and successfully completed his PHD in astrophysics. He cried when Hikaru accepted his diploma and when they met in the hallway after the ceremony.

Ben whispered a series of, “I’m so proud of you,” and “You did it, you’re an intergalactic pilot.” into Hikaru’s ears.

“I can finally fly,” Hikaru murmured, clutching tightly onto Ben.

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous Hikaru,” Ben smiled, “You could always fly.”

 

\----- _Hikaru’s POV: At Their Apartment-----_

 

The two of them were sitting in their living room, sorting through what Hikaru should and shouldn’t take with him when he left for space.

“Okay, I’ll take my Arrowwood, Bamboo Moose, Canyon Hops and Asian Sand Rocket. But I’ll leave behind the Thimbleweed, Three-leaved White Vine and the Winter Lilac.”

Ben scoffed, “You are not taking your poisonous Bamboo Moose into space. That will not go well for everyone else on that ship.”

“Well, what should I take instead?” Hikaru asked, glaring down at his plants.

“Take your White Vine, I can take care of the others, but I almost killed the White Vine when you were busy writing your finals.”

“Okay, that solves the plant problem,” Hikaru breathed, leaning back on his elbows, “What else do I need to bring?”

 

Ben thought for a minute before responding, “Have you packed your clothes yet? Your casual clothes for off duty hours?”

“Oh shit,” Hikaru cursed, “No I haven’t.” He scrambled to his feet and dashed into the bedroom. “Can you help me?” He called.

Ben chuckled as he walked into the bedroom, “You don’t leave for 2 more weeks, why do you insist on packing everything today?”

Hikaru looked up from the pile of clothes he dumped onto the bed. “Because then I have 2 weeks to spend with my husband before I leave for space.”

Ben smiled as he climbed onto the bed, joining his husband. “What are you packing your clothes in?” 

“I was going to go with my two duffel bags and the medium green suitcase we used on our road trip last year.”

“Okay, let’s sort through all of this,” Ben spoke, clapping his hands together.

  


It took them a while to sort through all of Hikaru’s clothes, but 2 hours later, they came to an agreement on which clothes Hikaru would take and which he would leave behind. Hikaru would take the cartoon plant sweater Ben got him for his birthday, a lavender Cashmere scarf and few plain tee shirts. Along with several of his dark collared button ups, 2 pairs of slacks and 5 pairs of denim. 

After that, there was only a few other things to pack. Hikaru took two of his best sabres and his retractable katana, the quilt from his sister, several of his classic paperbacks and a framed photo of him and Ben dancing at their wedding. 

“So...” Hikaru begun as he laid down next to a sprawled out Ben. “I guess that’s it. That’s everything.”

“Yeah,” Ben sighed, “I guess so.”

“Thirteen more days and I leave,” Hikaru breathed, “Gone from this planet and into uncharted space.”

“What do you think you’ll find out there?” Ben asked, looking over at Hikaru.

Hikaru shrugged, “I have no idea...I don’t think I’ve ever been so nervous and so terrified in my life than I am right now.”

Ben shuffled over so that he was kneeling over top of Hikaru, “You’re going to do great,” He spoke softly before leaning down and giving him a kiss. 

Hikaru smiled, “Thanks, sweetie.”

“And I expect a call at least once a week,” Ben spoke while pointing at Hikaru, which drew a laugh out of the man.

“It’s what you get for leaving me all by my lonesome.”

“I thought you said that you would be fine on your own,” Hikaru smirked.

Ben rolled his eyes, “I’m just teasing, I will be fine. I’ll watch over the apartment and eagerly await your return home.”

Hikaru smiled, “That’s something I’m looking forward to.”

Ben’s brow furrowed, “Returning home?” He asked.

“Returning to you.” Hikaru corrected.

Ben laughed, “That’s the same thing.”

“I know,” Hikaru replied, “I just want you to think about it while I’m gone. I want you to think about me coming home. Our reunion. Just think about it...”

Ben smiled, “I’m looking forward to it.”

 

\----- _Ben’s P.O.V: 13 Days Later_ \-----

 

“Do you have everything?” Ben asked, like a worried parent.

“Yes,” Hikaru smiled and gave Ben a kiss. “I’ve got everything that I could need...other than you,”

“What about your PADD?”

“Got it!” Hikaru answered, holding his PADD up.

“Do you have the symphony I wrote for you on it?”

Hikaru scoffed lightly, “Of course I have it.” He leaned up to give Ben a quick kiss.

“And your clothes and plants and everything else?” Ben asked, nervously twiddling his thumbs.

Hikaru rolled his eyes with a chuckle, “Yes, Mom,” He teased. “I have everything I need.”

Ben looked to the ground before meeting Hikaru’s eyes again, “Sorry, I just...I’m going to miss you.”

Hikaru smiled sadly, “I’m going to miss you too.”

 

They wrapped themselves around each other and shared a long kiss before Ben pushed Hikaru away, lightly. “You should go now, or I’m never going to be able to let go.” He murmured softly, not meeting Hikaru’s eyes.

Hikaru gave his one last soft kiss, before whispering, “Goodbye Ben,” Into Ben’s ear.

“Goodbye ‘Ru,” Ben gushed, meeting Hikaru’s again.

 

After one more melancholy glance, Hikaru backed away, turned on his heel and left for his shuttle. He turned around to wave goodbye just before climbing into the shuttle.    


“Goodbye mon amour.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please go check out whatthebuckybarnes on [tumblr](http://whatthebuckybarnes.tumblr.com), she's super sweet and has an amazing tumblr blog.


	5. Moving Forward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hikaru returns home to Ben after a brief mission on Nibiru and the two of them spend some time together before Hikaru has to leave again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains the following prompts from whatthebuckybarnes's tumblr prompts, which can be found [here](http://whatthebuckybarnes.tumblr.com/post/148217443080/i-just-have-so-many-questions-about-sulu-and).  
> 14.) and jsut. the same fckn questions about the events of into darkness. why does this man get into these life threatening situations oh my god   
> (Technically this one isn't answered until the next chapter, but it does involve Into Darkness, so I'm counting it for both chapters.)
> 
> I hope you like it!!

Hikaru told the Captain that their plan would never work. He told him that flying a shuttle into cloud of volcanic ash would kill the shuttle and everyone inside of it. But Kirk being Kirk, refused to let the civilization die and went against the prime directive to save the natives of Nibiru from a volcanic eruption. 

“Spock get in there, neutralize the volcano and let’s get out of here!” Kirk called to Hikaru and Nyota’s shuttle with his comm.

“We have to do this now!” Sulu snapped, “I told the Captain the shuttle wasn’t built for this kind of heat.”

After a brief conversation with the Captain about the prime directive, Spock was suited up and ready to be dropped into the volcano. 

“You’re good!” Nyota replied once Spock was ready.

Hikaru huffed from his seat and repeated, “If we’re going to do this, we’ve got to it now!” Equally as annoyed as the first time. “This ash is killing our coils,” he muttered into his console.

He could hear Nyota and Spock talking in the back of the shuttle, which was not helping his mood. “Guys! We have to go! Now!” He barked, standing up to face them before sitting down again.

 

Nyota quickly joined him in the front of the shuttle before it was sealed and Spock was sent into the volcano, hanging from a thick cable.

Spock hadn’t made it far before Hikaru spat, “I can’t hold this position. Spock, I got to pull you back up!”

“Negative,” Spock argued, “This is our only chance to save this species.”

One of the coils exploded and Hikaru called, “Pull him back up. Now!”

After some hesitation, Nyota eventually the lever that would bring spock back into the shuttle. Unfortunately the cable broke and sent Spock crashing into the volcano. He was trapped.

“I’ll suit up and go down,” Nyota declared.

“We have to abandon the shuttle,” Hikaru argued.

“We can just leave him!”

“We don’t have a choice. I’m sorry,” He answered before comming the Captain. “Captain, I’m ditching the shuttle, you gotta make it to the Enterprise on your own.”   
  


 

Eventually, with Kirk’s decision to disobey the prime directive, the Enterprise crew was able to save Spock, but exposed their location to the Nibiru natives. Hikaru knew that this wasn’t going to end well, but this was the Enterprise. They had gotten away with a lot of shit, maybe this would be added to the many things that Starfleet had let slide. 

And when Hikaru saw Ben at the docking station at the Academy, he couldn’t care less.

“Hey sunlight,” He called, holding his arms open as Hikaru ran into them. 

Hikaru gave him a kiss before murmuring, “Hey Ben.”

“I thought you would be working,” Hikaru spoke, still wrapped in Ben’s arms.

“I had a couple of interviews this morning, but other than that, my schedule is cleared.” Ben spoke softly into Hikaru’s shoulder. 

“Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to some quality time with my husband,” Hikaru smiled, breaking out of their embrace, so that they could walk, hand in hand, to their apartment.

“So am I,” Ben murmured into the air. 

  
\----- _Back at their Apartment-----_

 

“So what do you have planned today?” Hikaru asked from his position on top of Ben. The two were lying on the couch, too lazy to move to the bedroom.

“Well, I was thinking we could order some food in the evening and just have a day for ourselves.” Ben suggested from underneath Hikaru.

Hikaru hummed, “I like the sound of that.” He gave Ben a quick kiss before crawling off of him to check the fridge for a suitable lunch. He scowled at the mostly empty fridge. “Okay, I understand why we’re ordering food for dinner.”

Ben awkwardly stood behind Hikaru, as he stared at the 9 items in the fridge, 5 of which were sauces. “Sorry,” He mumbled, “I only have to feed myself and I forgot to buy more food before you came home.”

Hikaru closed the fridge and turned around to face Ben. “Hey, don’t worry about it,” Hikaru cooed, walking over to their replicator. “Now, you can get a taste of what I eat everyday when I’m not here,” He laughed.

Ben smiled as he watched Hikaru punch in an order into the replicator. After a whirling noise, the machine produced two bowls of vegetable miso, 4 steamed buns and deep fried tofu.

“Now, this may look really good,” Hikaru started, picking up the bowls of miso and carrying them to the dining room. Ben followed him with the steamed buns and tofu. “But,” Hikaru continued, walking into the kitchen to grab two pairs of chopsticks, “Do not let replicator food fool you. It will not be as good as the original...obviously. But other than that, dig in and try to enjoy modern space food.” Hikaru joked, handing one of the pairs of chopsticks to Ben as he sat down next to him.

 

“So, how long are you staying until they need you back on the Enterprise?” Ben asked after swallowing a mouthful of tofu.

“We’re supposed to have 2 weeks of shore leave, but I know those 2 weeks is going to seem like 2 days.” Hikaru answered as he bit into a bun. 

“Are your plants doing okay?” Ben asked, “Have they survived living in a starship for 3 months?”

Hikaru laughed and almost choked on his water by doing so. “Yes, my plants are fine. They’ve adapted to my quarters and happy as can be.”

Ben smiled, “How about your space fencing? How is that going?” 

“I’ve convinced Bones to start sparring with me and he’s doing really well.”

Ben giggled, “You convinced Bones to fence with you? The next thing you’re going to say is that he and Spock are getting along. Or that someone got Spock to laugh.”

Hikaru shrugged, “It’s the Enterprise...anything can happen.”

“Well, you do have a point there,” Ben admitted, pointing his chopsticks at Hikaru.

  
  


They had just finished their lunch when Hikaru’s PADD went off. Hikaru groaned as he slammed his head onto the table. “Really? I’ve had 3 hours of shore leave and you’re already going off?” He asked his PADD, while raising one of his eyebrows. But nonetheless, Hikaru answered it. He was surprised to find out that it wasn’t a message telling him shore leave was cancelled, it was a transcript, detailing an attack on a Starfleet archive in London, which killed 42 people.

“Oh my god,” Hikaru breathed, scanning through the article. 

“What is it?” Ben asked, leaning over his shoulder. 

“There was an attack on Starfleet...in London,” Hikaru answered.

Ben’s eyes went wide, “What happened?”

Hikaru’s eyes narrowed at the PADD, “I’m not sure. It says that the building exploded and they’re not sure why. But 42 people are dead.”

Ben’s heart fell, “That’s terrible, I can’t imagine what that would be like.”

“I’m pretty sure you could,” Hikaru muttered to himself. 

Hikaru sighed, “I joined Starfleet to explore and unite everyone together. But when something like this happens, I feel like it’s all for nothing. That we haven’t gone anywhere and we’re just wasting our time.”

Ben got up from his chair and knelt in front of Hikaru, “Hikaru, you know that’s not true. You’re doing so much for our societies and the Federation’s species. More than you might realize.” Ben stopped for a moment to pull Hikaru out of his chair and stand in front of him. “We’ve come so far as a species and you are helping to find us a better way to live and survive. Don’t you ever forget that!”

“Thanks Ben,” Hikaru smiled.

“No problem ‘Ru, I’m here for you,” He replied, reaching out to take Hikaru’s hands. He led him to the bedroom, where Hikaru curled up, on his side, into Ben’s chest.

 

\----- _ Later on at 22:00 _ \-----

 

“Well, now that you’ve helped me,” Hikaru spoke, “What can I do for you?”

“Hmm,” Ben thought, “Well there is something I’ve been meaning to get off my chest for a while.”

“Really?” Hikaru asked, “Now, what might that be?”

“Well it’s, it’s...” Ben took a deep breath trying to steady his breathing. “Hikaru,” He spoke, meeting Hikaru’s eyes, “I want to-”

_ Beep Beep Beep _

 

They were cut off when Hikaru’s comm started to go off. Ben sighed, “You should get that.”

“No, I want to stay here with you,” He answered, “I want to hear what you have to get off your chest.”

“‘Ru, you should really get that.”

“But Ben, I-” He was stopped by a pair of lips on his own. “It’s okay,” Ben murmured, “Just answer it.”

Hikaru grumbled in response, but answered it anyway. He rubbed his face with one hand as he opened his comm with the other. “Yeah?” He grunted, leaning his head against Ben.

“Ah, Mr. Sulu,” Jim answered, “You’re needed on the Enterprise.”

“What?” Hikaru asked, annoyed, “I thought we were supposed to get 2 weeks of shore leave.”

Jim sighed, “Yes, we were. But we’ve found out that the man who was behind the attack in London, attacked Starfleet Headquarters and has fled to Qo'noS. Now we have to track him down.”

“When are we leaving?”

“As soon as possible,” Jim replied.

“I’ll be there in 30 minutes,” He mumbled before closing his communicator.

 

“You should go,” Ben spoke, 20 minutes later when Hikaru hadn’t moved from the bed.

“Not until I hear what you have to say.” Hikaru replied, clutching onto Ben’s arm.

“Hikaru, it’s fine. It can wait. You go kick some ass and then, when you come back, I’ll tell you what’s on my mind.”

Hikaru shrunk against Ben’s chest, “Can I at least get a hint?”

Ben smiled, “Sure you can get a hint.” 

Hikaru let out a faint, “WooHoo!” While Ben thought of his hint. 

“Okay!” Ben exclaimed, “I got it. This, if we both decide that it’s a good idea, will change our lives and our future forever.”

Hikaru’s raised his eyebrows slightly, “In a good way or a bad way?” He asked.

Ben beamed, grabbing Hikaru’s hands and holding onto them softly, “In a good way.”

 

“In a very good way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please go check out whatthebuckybarnes on [tumblr](http://whatthebuckybarnes.tumblr.com). She's super sweet and has an amazing blog.


	6. Family Additions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hikaru comes home after the Khan incident and he and Ben talk about something important.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's prompts come from [whatthebuckybarnes's](http://whatthebuckybarnes.tumblr.com) tumblr post, which can be found [here](http://whatthebuckybarnes.tumblr.com/post/148217443080/i-just-have-so-many-questions-about-sulu-and) headcanons from.  
> The following numbers are in this chapter:
> 
> 13.) or were they both completely unable to contact each other the entire time and each only found out the other was alive when hikaru stepped off that shuttle to the crowd of friends, family, starfleet officials, and paparazzi that must have been awaiting them all  
> 14.) and jsut. the same fckn questions about the events of into darkness. why does this man get into these life threatening situations oh my god  
> 15.) “with all due respect, sir, we’re not going anywhere” BUT WHAT ABOUT YOUR BOYFRIEND HIKARU  
> 16.) were they married by this point? engaged? when did they have their daughter?  
> 17.) is she adopted or is she biologically one of theirs? or BOTH of theirs i mean it is the 23rd century  
> 18.) is she still called demora??? has she met the rest of the bridge

Hikaru sighed as he sat down at his console. He wished that he could be spending his time with Ben, instead of tracking down a man that managed to transport himself from Earth to Qo'noS. It also didn’t help that he badly wanted to know what Ben was thinking about, that would change their future together.

“Maybe he got a job off planet?” He thought as he entered some codes into his console. “No, no, it’s probably not that.”

“Oh! Maybe a music critic heard one of his symphonies and gave him an amazing review that’s giving Ben a lot of publicity? Well, that would be great, but we like our privacy, so he wouldn’t be super excited about that. Hmm, I don’t know...I guess I’ll find out when I get home.”

 

For Hikaru, the day seemed like it would never end. But before he knew it, the day was almost gone and he was watching in fear as Kirk begged Admiral Marcus to leave his crew alone. 

Hikaru was terrified, all he could think about was Ben. Ben, who was on earth, watching the stars and the sky, waiting for him to come home. He imagined what would happen to Ben if he never came home, if he died out here, in the middle of space, far from his home, his love, his Ben. 

His heart ached, “Please, please, let me go home to him. Let me see him again. He deserves better than that.” He thought quietly.

But luckily for him, Scotty had broken into Marcus’s ship and momentarily disabled his weapons. Which bought the Enterprise enough time to remove the cryotubes from their new torpedos and set them to detonate once Khan beamed them onto Marcus’s ship. But unfortunately for them, due to the shots Khan fired at the Enterprise, their ship lost all power and was plummeting towards earth. 

“Sir, the central power grid is failing,” Someone on the bridge reported to Spock.

“Switch to auxiliary power,” Spock ordered.

“Auxiliary power failing, sir,” A science officer replied. 

“Oh shit,” Hikaru thought, before calling out loud, “Commander, our ship’s caught in Earth’s gravity!”

“Can we stop?”

Hikaru muttered, “I can’t do anything.”

“Lieutenant, sound evacuation, all decks,” Spock commanded. After a quick “Aye sir” from the lieutenant, Spock turned to the bridge crew and spoke, “As acting Captain, I order you to abandon this ship.” When they looked back at him with blank faces, he shouted, “I order you to abandon this ship!”

Hikaru almost scoffed, “With all due respect, Commander, but we’re not going anywhere.” 

Nyota turned in her chair, towards Hikaru and asked, “Hikaru, what about your husband?” Right now, she didn’t give a damn about regulations and professionality. She cared about her best friend whose partner was waiting for him to return home in one piece. She didn’t want Ben to look up and watch his husband burn in the earth’s atmosphere.

He turned to face her and spoke a soft, “He’ll understand...and I’ll make it home to him. I always do.” He swiveled his chair back around and he punched a button on his console to engage his seatbelt.

 

From that point on, all Hikaru heard was commands and shouts from the remaining bridge crew.

“Gravity systems are failing,” Spock called out, “Hold on!”

“Emergency power at 15% and dropping.” Darwin announced.

“Mr. Sulu, diver any remaining power to stabilizers.” Spock directed at him.

“Doing what I can, sir. Doing what I can.” He answered, glaring down at his console. “If we don’t get power or shields back online, we’re gonna be incinerated on reentry.” 

Hikaru watched in horror as the front of the saucer started to catch fire. “Come on, all we need is a little bit more power. Just enough to power the shields and keep us stabilized.” He thought to himself. 

And his thoughts were answered as the warp core suddenly was back online. 

“Maximum thrusters, Mr. Sulu,” Spock ordered.

“Thrusters at maximum! Stand by!” He called, tapping away at his console at warp speed. To their relief, the Enterprise emerged from the clouds, fully stabilized.

 

 

Hikaru was exhausted, after the longest day in his life, the Enterprise crew had finally caught Khan...again, and Jim was in the hospital, recovering and the crew was being let off the bridge and onto Earth. Hikaru stayed on the ship until everyone else had been beamed down or transported off the ship. He walked down with the last of the bridge crew and climbed into the pilot’s seat and flew it down to the Academy. 

Unfortunately, during all of the chaos, he wasn’t able to contact Ben. His PADD wouldn’t send any messages and he was unable to make any video calls from it. So, once he landed the shuttle, he walked through the crowds of people outside the campus. He didn’t make it far before he collided with someone, sending both of them to the ground.

“Oh, I am so sorry,” Hikaru apologized, wincing at the cuts on his palms. “Are you okay?” He asked, moving towards the lump on the ground.

“Hikaru?” The lump crocked.

Hikaru eyes widened as the man pushed himself into a sitting position. Hikaru knew that voice, he would never forget it, he could never forget it. “Ben,” Hikaru sighed when their eyes met. He leaned forward and peppered his husband with small, tiny kisses across his face, neck and hands.

Ben chuckled lightly, “Hey sunshine.”

“Well that’s a damn good first reunion...” Hikaru joked, making Ben laugh. 

They shared several more kisses before Hikaru helped Ben to his feet and checked him for any major or minor injuries. Other than his sore buttocks and bleeding elbows, Ben was in perfect condition. Hikaru linked their hands and leaned his head on top of Ben’s shoulder as they weaved through the crowds of people to their apartment. Hikaru could feel when Ben moved his arm to wrap around his back. He smiled when Ben’s hand cupped his hip, his thumb rubbing soft circles into his side.

 

When they got back to the apartment, Ben put on the kettle and brought Hikaru into their bedroom. He pulled the covers over both of them as Hikaru cuddled against his chest. Ben pulled Hikaru close to him, cocooning him in his arms. Hikaru nuzzled Ben’s chest while Ben kissed Hikaru’s head softly.

After 10 minutes of silence, Hikaru murmured, “What were you going to tell me?”

“What do you mean?” Ben asked, resting his cheek on Hikaru’s head.

“Before I left, you said you had something to tell me. Something that ‘will change our lives and our future forever.’” Hikaru quoted, tangling his fingers in Ben’s shirt.

Ben took a deep breath before gently pushing on Hikaru’s shoulders, breaking their embrace. Hikaru grabbed Ben’s hands and with a soft smile, he gave them a reassuring squeeze. Their eyes connected and Ben spoke, “Okay, so I’ve been...I’ve been thinking a lot and after the events of today, I really want to talk about...someone.”

Hikaru’s brow furrowed, “Someone?” He asked.

Ben gave a small smile, “Yeah,” He answered. “Before you left I thought about having and raising children with you, Hikaru.”

Hikaru lit up, “You have?” He breathed.

Ben nodded, his smile spreading across his face. “Yeah, I have. And after the attack on the London archive, there were thousands of reports and videos about all these children that were left alone, because their parents died in the explosion.” 

Hikaru was silent as Ben continued, “Some of these children were sent to other countries, to other adoption agencies. I went to one of the agencies and long story short, I got introduced to...” Ben trailed off as he leaned over to grab his PADD from the bedside table. He scanned through his PADD until he found what he was looking for. 

 

When he found it, he turned his PADD towards Hikaru. “To her, Demora Vicente. She’s 1 ½ years old, she loves music, finger painting and colouring. 

“She’s adorable,” Hikaru smiled, unable to look away from the laughing girl’s picture. “What about her parents? Are they...you know, dead?” Hikaru winced. He knew what Ben’s response would be, but he wanted to make sure that he was correct.

“Her dad was Filipino and her mother was Japanese. They met because they both worked in the same office at the London Archive. Her mother’s body was never found and her dad was sent to the hospital in critical condition, but died a few hours later.”

“Oh,” Hikaru sobbed, his heart broken, “That’s horrible.”

Ben pulled Hikaru into his arms and held him tight, “Yeah, it is.”

“I want to meet her,” Hikaru mumbled into Ben’s shoulder.

Ben nuzzled into Hikaru’s hair, “She’s super sweet, she got a little bit of a lisp. So when she spoke to me, she kept calling me ‘Wen’. I thought it was so sweet, I let her call me that for the rest of the meeting.”

“Awww,” Hikaru cried out, tears pricking his eyes.

“And her pronunciation is a little bit off; so, instead of saying chew or cheese, it comes out as shew and sheese.”

“Okay, I have to meet her,” Hikaru spoke, letting out a breathy laugh, “When can we go see her?”

Ben smiled, “I’m so glad you asked. I figured that you would want to meet her as soon as you found out about her. So, I arranged another meeting with her in two days.”

Hikaru’s eyes widened, a smiled spreading across his face, “Really?”

“Yeah,” Ben answered, “So maybe, tomorrow, we can go and buy some things for her room and get a basic bedroom set up for her. And if everything works out and she does become our daughter, we can take her shopping to get the rest of the things she wants for her room. Like the paint and decorations and toys and furniture and anything else that she wants.” 

 

Ben was panting by the time he was finished, “So, what do you think of that?” He asked.

Hikaru smiled and gave Ben a quick peck on the lips. “I love it,” He hummed, hugging his husband tightly. “I can’t wait to meet her.”

“You’re going to love her.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Go check out [whatthebuckybarnes's](http://whatthebuckybarnes.tumblr.com) on tumblr. She's super sweet and has an amazing blog.


	7. One Big Happy Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hikaru and Ben adopt Demora and the crew spends some time with their new goddaughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains the following prompts from [whatthebuckybarnes](http://whatthebuckybarnes.tumblr.com/) which can be found [here](http://whatthebuckybarnes.tumblr.com/post/148217443080/i-just-have-so-many-questions-about-sulu-and).  
> 18.) is she still called demora??? has she met the rest of the bridge  
> 20.) imagine spock. holding a baby.  
> 21.) (i mean a specific baby)  
> 22.) imagine spock holding a baby and having NO IDEA WHAT TO DO (think spock holding the tribble in trouble with tribbles except zachary quinto) while the rest of the bridge cracks the fuck up  
> 19.) DOES SHE LOVE JIM i bet jim is great with kids  
> 23.) (especially bones. especially bones)  
> 24.) (except then he gets sad because he misses his own daughter)  
> 25.) (i know joanna isn’t canon in aos but… i don’t care)  
> 28.) CHEKOV WITH A BABY. telling her nursery rhymes in russian. carrying her around the ship with him whenever they visit because babies are a Total Chick Magnet  
> 27.) does uhura see him(Hikaru) with demora and just Need A Minute  
> 34.) what is UHURA like with babies that’s what i’m wondering  
> 37.) does she ever meet jaylah? do they watch educational videos together because jaylah is still learning english  
> 38.) JAYLAH. WITH A SMALL CHILD. I’M A BALL OF EMOTIONS  
> 33.) i know it’s unlikely that spock prime ever meets Demora but… does he just smile because he knows she follows in (one of her father’s footsteps  
> 29.) scotty building lego sets and train tracks with her and chatting away to her like she’s a tiny adult  
> 30.) “I’ll make an engineer of you yet, lassie”  
> 32.) hikaru makes a note to Keep Demora Away From Mad Scotsmen

They spent the whole day travelling around from store to store, transforming Ben’s office into a bedroom, fit for Demora. And after childproofing their apartment, they anxiously waited for tomorrow. When Hikaru woke up the next morning, Ben was making breakfast.

“What’s cookin’ good lookin’?” Hikaru asked, pecking Ben’s cheek.

“I thought it would be fun to make some pancakes.” Ben hummed before shooing Hikaru out of the kitchen.

“What time are we supposed to be at the agency?” Hikaru called from the living room.

“We’re supposed to be there at 1:00. So, we’ve got a good 4 hours before we have to think about getting ready and leaving.” Ben answered from the kitchen.

 

“Pancakes are ready!” Ben hollered while he loaded up his plate and joined Hikaru in the living room. When Hikaru reached for one of Ben’s pancakes, Ben playfully swatted him away. “Hey! You can serve yourself. The rest of the pancakes are in the pan.”

Hikaru rolled his eyes dramatically as he pulled himself to his feet and left to get his own plate of pancakes. “You know, it wouldn’t kill you to bring me my pancakes,” Hikaru teased, sitting next to Ben.

“You don’t know my limits,” Ben joked, “I could have tripped while carrying your plate and died.”

Hikaru lightly poked Ben’s arm with his syrup covered fork. “You’re so dumb,” Hikaru giggled.

“You married me, what does that say about you?” Ben mumbled through his pancakes.

Hikaru sighed, “It means I’m just as dumb as you.”

“Two dumb gay men raise a baby together...it sounds like a sitcom from the 21st century.” Ben chuckled.

“Just shut up and eat your pancakes,” Hikaru laughed.

 

\----- _Demora’s POV: 5 Hours Later_ \-----

 

Demora’s head shot up when she heard the door open. “Thulu?” She asked in her head and when she saw Ben walk in the door, she bolted towards him and hugged his legs. “Thulu!” She shrieked excitedly.

Ben laughed, “Hey Demora, remember me?”

“Yeah!” She smiled, letting go of his legs.

“Well, I’d like you to meet someone,” Ben spoke, kneeling down to Demora’s level. “This is Hikaru, my husband, the one I told you about last time.”

“It’s n-nice to meet y-you Demora!” Hikaru stuttered.

Without saying anything, Demora turned around and walked over to the table she was sitting at before. She picked up a piece of paper and stumbled back to the men. She tugged on Hikaru’s pant leg and showed him the paper.

“Drew you!” She beamed.

Hikaru and Ben both looked down at her drawing. In the center of the page was three stick figures, the tall one resembled Ben, the one on the right resembled Hikaru and the short one in the middle resembled Demora.

“You drew us?” Hikaru asked, kneeling on the floor next to Ben.

She smiled, “I drew my family!”

Hikaru and Ben brought her into a large hug.

 

Demora was right, this is their family.

 

\----- _Hikaru’s POV: 2 Hours Later-----_

 

After a couple hours of playing with Demora, it was time for her afternoon nap. She protested at first, refusing to let go of Hikaru’s legs.

“No! You stay!” She cried, tightening around Hikaru’s legs.

Hikaru’s heart broke. Carefully, he kneeled down and took her hands in his own. “Don’t worry,” Hikaru murmured, “We’re going to adopt you.”

She sniffed, “You are?”

“Yes, but there’s a lot of boring adult work that has to go into it first,” Hikaru explained, wiping her tears away. “So, you can take your afternoon nap and once you wake up, we’ll be done and you will be a part of our family.”

“Does that sound okay, Demora?” Ben asked, sitting down next to Hikaru.

She smiled, “You promise?”

The two men beamed, “We promise,” They spoke together.

 

They walked Demora back to her room and said their goodbyes before they left her room.

 

\----- _The Next Morning-----_

 

“Demora.”

“Wake up.”

Demora rubbed her eyes before opening them. In front of her was Hikaru and Ben, sitting on the floor, next to her bed. “Daddy! Papa!” She gasped, launching herself at them.

“Daddy?” Ben asked.

“Papa?” Hikaru added.

“Daddy,” Demora spoke, pointing at Hikaru.

“And Papa,” She finished, pointing at Ben.

Hikaru and Ben stared at her, blankly. Her brow furrowed, “Wrong?”

Hikaru and Ben shared a glance before laughing, “No, not wrong. You’re right, very right!”

She smiled brightly before Hikaru and Ben pulled her into a hug. “We want to take you shopping for your room. Does that sound like fun?” Ben asked.

Demora squealed excitedly.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Hikaru chuckled, helping Ben pack Demora’s clothes and her three toys into a small backpack.

“Alright, you ready Dem?”

“I’m ready!”

 

\----- _At the shopping plaza-----_

 

Hikaru couldn’t remember the last time he had this much fun. He loved watching Demora bounce in her seat in the hover cart. She already had picked out some green blankets with flowers for her bed, several holos of stars and animals, some new clothes, a fuzzy pillow, a few different toys, a large over-the-head sweater and a new plant that Hikaru and Ben would end up taking care of.

 

They were just about to head towards the checkout when Demora shrieked loudly.

“Space! Space! Space!” She let out, pointing at a bin of starship stuffies.

Hikaru and Ben shared a look that screamed, “Our daughter is adorable.”

“Alright Dem,” Hikaru spoke, lifting her out of the cart, “Which one do you want?”

She looked at the overflowing bin, eyes scanning through the bin before settling on an Enterprise plushie on the top of the large stack. She reached over and clutched it to her chest.

“This one!” She smiled with her eyes squeezed shut.

She held it against her chest for the rest of the trip.

 

When they got home from their shopping spree, the family collapsed onto the living room couches, exhausted. If they were going to make Demora’s room spectacular, they were going to need some help. So they ended up giving the bridge crew a call and 15 minutes later, they were all helping with Demora’s bedroom.

“Where do you want the bookshelf?” Bones groaned, stumbling through the door with a small white bookcase.

“Doctor, I believe it is logical to place the shelving unit against the adjacent wall of the bed.” Spock spoke up from the other end of the bookshelf.

“What about the dresser?” Jim asked, standing back to look at the dresser, opposite of the bed. “Is it okay over here?”

“I don’t know,” Hikaru muttered, rubbing his chin, “What do you think Dem?”

“I like it!” She hummed, flopping down on her bed.

 

Spock, once he and Bones had moved the bookshelf and secured it to the wall, sat down on Demora’s bed. Demora shuffled over to Spock and let out a huge yawn.

“I’m tired,” She mumbled, “Uncle Spock, hold me!”

Spock was about to ask why she didn’t ask one of her fathers to hold her, when Demora climbed into his lap and rested her head on his arm.

She fell asleep instantly.

Spock, confused, looked around at the 8 adults in the room, who were struggling to contain their laughter. Awkwardly, he wrapped his arms around the girl, gently supporting her.

“My god man,” Bones chuckled, “I never thought I’d see the day…” He reached for his PADD and took a picture of the two of them. He sent it to the rest of the crew, including Jaylah. “I’m saving that as my wallpaper,” He smiled under his breath.

“Spock, I never knew you had such a sweet spot,” Jim joked, slapping him on the back.

“Captain, it is unwise to do that,” Spock scolded, “You might wake the child.”

“You really are just a big softie, aren’t you?” Nyota asked, organizing Demora’s toys in some brightly coloured bins.

“You need to come over more often if you can put her to bed that easily,” Ben added, taking Demora out of Spock’s arms and into his own. “Well, we appreciate all of your help, but for now, we’re gonna let Dem sleep,” Hikaru cooed, standing next to Ben and his daughter.

“She’s exhausted and she’s young, she needs her sleep.”

The crew nodded.

“Zis vas fun,” Pavel spoke, walking out with a wave.

“Call us if you need anything,” Scotty added.

Hikaru and Ben smiled at each other, they were starting a family. No, they had a family. A family that Hikaru could return to after his missions on the Enterprise. A family that Ben would take care of when Hikaru was off planet.

They finally had a family.

 

\----- _Several months later-----_

 

Hikaru still couldn’t believe that he and Ben were fathers, fathers of a beautiful baby girl. He felt he was flying when he was around his family and it warmed him up, seeing the crew interacting and getting along with Demora.

He was always a little concerned when Jim would ask to babysit her. He always expected that Jim would be feeding her nothing but sweets or teaching her why it’s important to break and bend the rules. But, despite his superstitions, Jim turned out to be a great uncle and Demora loved him. Hikaru and Ben both cried when Jim told them about when he took Demora to an ice cream store, dressed as a princess.

 

\----- _Jim and Demora-----_

 

_They looked ridiculous, but Jim didn’t care. Demora told him that she wanted to go to an ice cream parlour in her new princess dress, but was too embarrassed. So Jim, being the good uncle he is, replicated himself his own princess dress and the two of them walked together to the ice cream shop._

_“Alright Dem, what do you want?”  Jim asked the girl, who was squirming in his arms. “You can pick whatever you want and I’ll get it for you.”_

_She stared at the ice cream flavours on display and pointed at the rainbow coloured carton. “That one,” She declared._

_“Okay,” Jim replied before turning to the Orion behind the counter, “Can I get a deluxe sundae with the rainbow ice cream?”_

_The Orion nodded and proceeded to scoop an outrageous amount of ice cream into a waffle bowl._

 

_Jim paid the woman at the counter and sat with Demora, outside at a picnic table._

_“So, what do you think Dem?” Jim mumbled to his mouthful of ice cream._

_“I love it!” She smiled before clasping her hand over her mouth, with a strained, “Brain freeze!”_

_Jim chuckled, “I always used to get brain freezes as a kid.”_

_“They hurt,” Demora huffed, rubbing at her forehead._

_“Do you want to know how you get rid of them?” Jim asked._

_Demora shook her head._

_He leaned forward and whispered to her, “You eat more ice cream.”_

_“Really?”_

_“Yeah, then you won’t get any brain freezes.”_

_“Thank you Uncle Jim!” Demora smiled before grabbing the bowl with her tiny hands and tugging it towards her. Quickly, she finished off the rest of the ice cream, shoveling it into her mouth._

_“Whoa! Take it easy there Dem, no one’s gonna steal your ice cream,” Jim joked._

_“Don’t...want any...brain freezes,” She spoke in between spoonfuls of ice cream._

_Jim rolled his eyes and rubbed at his temples, “If Hikaru and Ben find out I let her have all this ice cream, they will kill me.”_

_Jim looked back at Demora and shrugged, “But they’ll never find out...”_

 

They found out. Hikaru and Ben nearly killed Jim when Demora’s sugar high had her up until 22:00. Luckily, her sugar crash kicked in 30 minutes later and she slept for 12 hours after that. Hikaru and Ben were exhausted by the time Demora finally passed out.

However, that was one of Hikaru and Ben’s favourite stories. They each had a framed picture of Demora, smiling happily, in her princess costume, with ice cream all over her face.

Jim took her three weeks later, to the same ice cream parlour, while she was dressed as a starship captain.

  
\----- _Pavel and Demora_ _\-----_  
  


Ben was always concerned whenever Pavel would babysit Demora. Even though Demora loved Uncle Pasha, Ben had a difficult time trusting Pavel again after he used her to flirt with various people on the Enterprise.

 

_“Awww, she’s so sweet!” Christine Chapel cooed, squeezing Demora’s tiny hands._

_“She really likes you,” Pavel smiled, looking from Demora to Christine._

_“And she’s yours?”_

_“No, but I am her godfather,” Pavel fibbed, “I’m like her third father.”_

_“But I thought Doctor McCoy was her godfather,” Christine countered, scowling at Pavel._

_“Uhh, technically the whole bridge crew are her godparents. But I am her favourite Uncle, she loves me.” Pavel answered, bopping Demora’s nose._

_“But not as much as she loves her parents,” Ben interjected from behind Pavel, startling the man._

_“Ben! Hey, I thought you were spending the day with Hikaru,” Pavel stuttered awkwardly._

_“I was, but me being the worried parent that I am, I wanted to check in and make sure everything was alright.” Ben replied, his eyes narrowed at the man._

 

_Pavel sighed, his head falling to the floor. He handed Demora back to Ben, knowing that Ben would never let him babysit Demora on his own again. “I’m sorry,” He mumbled, “You’ll probably never let me babysit her again...is that right?”_

_Ben rubbed at his temples, “Just promise me, you’ll never use her to pick up people and I’ll let you babysit her again.”_

_Pavel smiled, “I won’t, she deserves better.”_

 

_The next day, Ben found a bottle of scotch when he left Hikaru’s quarters and he knew this was Pavel’s way of saying, “I made a mistake and I’m sorry.”_

_Ben let Pavel babysit Demora a few days later and Pavel was a perfect Uncle for Demora._

 

Ben wasn’t surprised when Pavel became an amazing uncle to Demora shortly after that. He and Hikaru would come home and find Demora fast asleep in her bed and Pavel, in a similar state, in Demora’s beanbag chair. Or they would find Pavel reading Demora a Russian bedtime story or a nursery rhyme. The calming effect of the stories and rhymes would be ruined if Demora saw her fathers in the doorway. She would shoot up from her bed, screeching, “DADA! PAPA!”

Pavel couldn’t even be mad in these situations, he just loved seeing their little family together. He regretted using Demora to pick up people. Thinking back on it, he couldn’t remember why he thought that would be a good idea. But, he knew that with Ben and Hikaru raising Demora, she would be just fine.

 

\----- _Nyota and Demora-----_

 

Nyota looked forward to spending time with Demora. She would never forget when Hikaru got to bring her on the Enterprise and ran over to his baby girl, his arms wide for her to jump into. Her heart warmed when she saw Hikaru with his family, they were so cute and it made her heart hurt. She loved holding baby Demora in her arms until she would fall asleep. She would sing to the baby, in various Federation and Earth languages, watching as Demora’s breaths evened and her eyes closed slowly.

 

She was a sweetheart and showed more interest in Federation languages than Nyota did at her age. This ended in Nyota teaching Demora Swahili before she even finished learning English. To Nyota’s surprise, Demora easily mastered Swahili, but struggled a lot with her English.

 

_“Auntie Nyota,” Demora spoke in Swahili, through their video call._

_Nyota laughed. She couldn’t believe that Demora could speak better to her than her own parents. Just because Demora just couldn’t get the hang of English. “Yes Demora?” She replied, also in Swahili, “Is there anything I can help with?”_

_Demora sighed, running her hands down her face. “I can’t understand this stupid English,” She complained._

_“Have you been watching my videos on speaking English and it’s changeups?”_

_“Yes...but it still doesn’t make any sense, why does everyone speak it? I don’t get it!”_

_“Yes, English has a lot of inconsistencies and a lot of random patterns, but you will need it if you want to join the Federation and become a Starfleet Captain.”_

_She crossed her arms and huffed angrily at the screen, “Why can’t everyone learn Swahili and use that? It’s so much easier to understand.”_

_Nyota sighed, “Because we live in biased world and we’re not perfect. But that’s what we’re trying to achieve. A better humanity, where we all live in peace and we stand together, in unity.”_

_Demora smiled, “Well, that does make a lot of sense.”_

_“But what does that have to do with stupid English?”_

 

After Demora learned her English, she asked Nyota for help with learning Spanish, Japanese and Portuguese. Followed by Vulcan, Andorian, Orion, Romulan and Klingon. She even learned Korean and Filipino from Hikaru and Ben.

Nyota was amazed when Demora mastered all of them by the time she was 6 years old. Demora became so advanced at languages that only Nyota could speak to her because she would start a sentence in Spanish and end it in Korean. Or one of her sentences would have Vulcan, Filipino, Romulan and Japanese crammed together.

Nyota had to teach Hikaru and Ben the basics of all the languages Demora knew in order for Demora to have a solid conversation with her dads. Demora and her got along really well and Nyota was extremely proud of her. There was no doubt in her mind that one day, she would serve on the USS Enterprise.

 

\----- _Scotty and Demora_ \-----

 

The first time Demora met Scotty was one year into The Enterprise’s 5 Year Mission, when she was only 3 years old. She would lose Hikaru and Ben while on the Enterprise and would often wander off. She usually could find the sickbay and the science labs easily. As well as the crew’s quarters and the various Rec Rooms.

One day, she found herself in the Engineering decks. The decks pecked her curiosity and led her deep into the lower docks of the Enterprise.

“Well, hello there, little lassie,” Scotty spoke, kneeling down in front of her.

Demora smiled. “Uncle Scotty!” She screeched, launching herself at the man.

Scotty chuckled, “Where are your parents Miss Demora?”

“I don’t know,” She answered, scratching her head. “Would you like to play with me?”

“I suppose I could,” He smiled, standing up and grabbing Demora’s small hand. “Come along Demora, I'm going to make an engineer out of you.”

 

_Scotty walked her back to his office and grabbed two large bins from under his desk. He pushed them into the center of the room and removed the lids. One bin was filled with legos and the other was filled with wooden train tracks._

_Demora instantly dove into the lego bin and started building a large city that resembled San Francisco, if the city had been spray painted in neon pink and yellow. Scotty sat down next to her and started to build a small version of the Enterprise, using the only handful of grey pieces he owned._

_“Uncle Scotty! What you think of my city?” Demora asked, an hour later. Scotty looked up from the seventeenth Enterprise he was building and scanned his office. There wasn’t a blank patch on the floor, with the exception of where Scotty was sitting. His entire office had been turned into Demora’s lego city._

_He had never been so proud._

_He smiled and carefully leaned over to pick up Demora and put her in his lap. “I told you I’d make an engineer outta you,” He chuckled, giving her a soft hug._

_“Do you like it?” She asked, biting her lip._

_“Aye, I love it.”_

_Demora beamed, hugging her Uncle back, tightly._

  


Hikaru and Ben went looking for Demora as soon as they noticed she was gone. And when they went down to the lower decks, they were not expecting to find a wooden train track, running through the lower Engineering decks. And in the center of it, was their daughter and Scotty, playing with some old fashioned trains.

They made a mental note to buy Demora a train set of her own. They also made a note to keep her away from the mad Scottsman, but Demora always found her way back to “Train” Decks.

 

\----- _Bones and Demora (_ _4 Years Later)-----_

 

Bones loves Demora, absolutely adores her. She reminds him of Joanna when she was younger. Occasionally, he would mess up and call Demora, Joanna and vice versa. But after a quick apology from the doctor, they would smile and laugh it off. As a father, it was hard being away from his earthbound daughter. But when he was on Yorktown and got to babysit for the Sulu’s, it brought tears to his eyes and a smile to his face. He loved baking with 5 Year old Demora and teaching her how to make peach cobbler, peach pie, peaches and cream; basically any peach dessert. He would always remember playing ‘Doctor’ with her and Jim or Spock as their patients.

 

_“Doctor! This man has a broken arm!” Bones gestured at Spock. “And this man is suffering from a broken and lonely heart.” Bones added, pointing at Jim. “Whatever will we do?”_

_“I will fix it!” Demora cheered, grabbing a tricorder and running it over Spock’s arm. She set the tricoder down and rushed towards Bones’s closet. “This man needs a warm sweater, it will cure his broken bones.”_ _She explained while shoving at large, knitted sweater int Spock’s arms. He put it on with a slight smile on his face._

_“Thank you Demora,” Spock spoke, “I feel much better now.”_

_“And this man,” She continued, skipping over to Jim’s side. She gave him a huge hug before speaking, “He needs love. That will cure his broken heart.”_

_Jim smiled, hugging the girl back, “Thank you Doctor, I think you’ve healed my broken heart. I can’t thank you enough.”_

 

Bones couldn’t help but smile at the memory. Demora could make a Klingon laugh if she tried and would bring them to tears if they saw her cry.

Bones knew he had a special place in his heart for Demora. He loved her like the daughter he hadn’t seen in over 7 years. But Demora would tell him that Joanna loves him and understands why he’s out in space.

And that’s why Demora would always have a special place in his heart.

 

 **\-----** _Jaylah and Demora_ \-----

 

Demora doesn’t meet Jaylah until the Enterprise A is halfway through it’s construction. Jaylah is confused by this tiny human and is always asking questions about her.

_“This is our baby, Demora?” Hikaru spoke, walking with Demora, towards Jaylah._

_“I’m not a baby, Daddy!” Demora huffed, crossing her arms across her chest._

_“Baby Demora,” Jaylah hummed. Her eyes narrowed before asking, “Why you so tiny?”_

_“Because she’s a child, Jaylah,” Ben answered, who was standing behind Demora._

_“I’m not a child Papa! I’m a Starfleet cadet!” She declared, proudly._

_Ben rolled his eyes, laughing, “Okay, my mistake then. You and Jaylah have fun today, okay?”_

_She smiled, “We will.”_

 

_“What is baby Demora doing?” Jaylah asked, bending over to examine what Demora was making._

_“I’m making crafts!” She beamed, holding up two pieces of paper, one red and one white, both cartoon hearts on them._

_“I do not know what crafts are,” She answered, sitting next to Demora._

_“It’s simple,” Demora explained, handing Jaylah two pieces of paper and a pair of safety scissors. “Just cut out the heart shapes with the scissors and layer them on top of each other. Like this!” Demora smiled, holding up 4 cartoon hearts, of various sizes, stapled on top of each other. “Then you fold it and...it looks really pretty!”_

_“Oooo,” Jaylah let out, “Can I make one?”_

_Demora lit up, “Of course! And you can add glitter to them to make them even prettier.”_

_“What is this glitter?”_

_Demora gasped, “You’re going to love it!”_

 

_“We should exchange hearts,” Jaylah suggested, when they ran out of paper._

_“Here,” Demora spoke, handing Jaylah one of her heavily glittered 3D hearts, “You can have this one.”_

_Jaylah smiled, offering Demora a sparkly white and red heart, “Baby Demora gets this one.”_

 

And when Hikaru and Ben returned home, they found Demora and Jaylah, in the middle of the living room, covered in glitter, sparkles and stickers. They couldn’t help but laugh at the scene, they looked ridiculous and it was good to see them getting along. A few months later, Jaylah boarded a small starship, that would take her to Starfleet Academy on Earth. She ended up taking some of Demora’s stickers with her and put them on her Starfleet uniform, her dorm room door and her customizable weapon that she kept on in her closet. She made it a habitat to ask Demora for more whenever they would video call each other.

And Demora, true to her word, would send over her favourite stickers to Jaylah. They always arrived within 10 days of their last call and the new set would keep her entertained for several months until she ran out again.

 

\----- _Bonus_ \-----

 

It was Nyota who suggested it, who said that Demora and Jaylah would benefit from having English lessons together and watch educational videos, to help them with their English. Usually, Nyota would send them a video on a particular lesson they were struggling with or a concept they hadn’t quite grasped, yet. And despite their resentment towards the idea initially, the two learned the odd language a lot faster when they were together.

_“This is stupid,” Demora huffed, slouching in her chair._

_“I do not need English class, I speak English very good!” Jaylah argued, glaring at Nyota._

_Nyota sighed, “You two promised you would at least try it before you completely rejected the idea.”_

_Demora scrunched up her face before muttering, “Fine...but I’ll only if she does it!” Pointing at Jaylah._

_“I will do one lesson. Only one.” Jaylah answered, copying Demora’s slouched posture._

_Nyota rubbed her temples, “You are both such children,” She let out before loading up the video._

_“I am a child,” Demora mumbled, staring blankly at the video screen._

_“Well if either of you want to be a Starfleet officer, you need to grow up and act like the somewhat mature adults I know you can be,” Nyota answered._

 

\----- _30 Minutes Later-----_

 

“Wow, Auntie Ny. That...that made a lot of sense,” Demora murmured, “Thank you.”

“Yes, Miss Uhura, I think I understand so much more than before,” Jaylah added.

Nyota smiled, “You see? That is what I was trying to show you. That you can learn a lot from these videos and they will help both of you with your English.”

“I would like to have another lesson,” Jaylah replied, bouncing in her seat.

“Oooo! Can we? Can we?” Demora asked, her eyes lighting up.

Nyota beamed, “Of course we can.”

 

“Now onto spelling!”

“Awww,” Demora groaned.

“I hate spelling...”

“If you two keep complaining, I’m going to fail both of you and you will not receive your gold stickers for completing the lesson.”

“I love spelling!”

“I love it more!”

“No you don’t! I love it the most!”

“No one loves spelling more than me!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The craft that Demora and Jaylah make can be found [here](http://www.kidspot.com.au/things-to-do/activities/make-a-3d-heart-garland?ref=collection_view%2Cgames-crafts-and-activities-for-5-6-year-olds).
> 
> Sorry for the late upload, I've been really busy lately and I haven't had as much time to write my stories and upload them. So hopefully this long chapter will make up for it!!  
> There's a short epilogue after this and then this story will be finished. I hope you all enjoyed it and will read the final chapter once I upload it.


	8. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spock Prime meets Demora.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, last chapter! Sorry for the wait, I've been busy and I can't keep track of days anymore. Anyways, the only prompt in this chapter is:  
> 33.) i know it’s unlikely that spock prime ever meets Demora but… does he just smile because he knows she follows in (one of her father’s footsteps.
> 
> The rest of the prompts can be found [here](http://whatthebuckybarnes.tumblr.com/post/148217443080/i-just-have-so-many-questions-about-sulu-and).

Hikaru had never met Ambassador Spock in person. He knew who he was because of the Nero incident and the video call during the Khan’s attack. But he never spoke to him on a personal basis, at least, not until now.

He had just been promoted to Captain and was offered the USS Excelsior, which he accepted immediately. Ben was extremely proud and insisted that they go out and celebrate, just the two of them. A well needed date night.

 

Which was when they ran into the Ambassador on the streets of San Francisco.

“Captain Sulu, it’s been a long time since I last saw you.” Spock Prime spoke.

“Ambassador, I don’t think we’ve officially met,” Hikaru began, “At least, not in this circumstance.”

“I believe you are correct,” He spoke, evenly, “And you must be Ben, it’s nice to finally meet you.” He extended his hand towards Ben.

Ben looked at the Vulcan, confused, “Do I-” He stuttered, “Did you never meet me in your timeline?”

Spock sighed, “The Hikaru Sulu from my timeline was a very private man. I didn’t even know he had a daughter until she...”

“Until she what?” Hikaru asked, concerned and intrigued.

“I’m afraid I’ve said too much and I vowed not to alter your destinies.” He paused for a moment before continuing, “What I meant to say was, I never got to meet Hikaru Sulu’s partner in my timeline. I knew he had one, but I never got to meet him. Like I said, he was a very private man. When he was on shore leave, no one would see him until the crew was called back to the Enterprise.”

 

“But we did have a daughter in your timeline, right? A baby girl named Demora?” Hikaru asked.

“Yes, you did. Demora was an inspiration. She was very skilled, very smart and intelligent. She was consistently at the top of her class.”

“Really?” Ben asked, sharing a shocked, but proud look with Hikaru.

“Yes,” He replied, “And if I could offer a piece of advice, I would tell you to trust her. She knows what she wants and what she wants to do and she’s very good at it. Trust me...I know.”

Hikaru and Ben smiled, they already knew what Demora wanted to do and they trusted her completely. Ben was a little worried that he would start to feel lonely when Demora would eventually leave for the Academy. But he knew that she wanted to follow in Hikaru’s footsteps and there was no way he was going to stop her from doing that.

 

“This may sound strange, Ambassador,” Hikaru chuckled, awkwardly, “But would you like to see a picture of her?”

Spock gave the slightest of smiles, “I would love to see a photo of her. The Spock from your timeline has sent me several photos of Demora, but I’m sure you have a more recent photo of her.”

Hikaru reached into his jacket and pulled out an old style, photo of 8 year old Demora, which was taken last week. She was sitting in the Captain’s chair on the USS Excelsior with Hikaru and Ben standing behind her, smiling brightly. Hikaru handed the picture to the Ambassador and watched as his smile grew. “She looks very similar to the Demora I knew in my timeline.”

Hikaru and Ben smiled, squeezing their joined hands. “Does that mean that we did meet and have a family in your timeline?” Ben asked, tearing his eyes away from Hikaru and towards Spock.

He smiled one last time, “I cannot alter your destiny.” He spoke before walking away. Hikaru and Ben’s hearts were just about to break, but then they heard him speak again.

“But I do believe that you are correct.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it, that's the end of this story. I hope you all had as much fun reading this as I did writing it. Thank you so much to [whatthebuckybarnes](http://whatthebuckybarnes.tumblr.com) for [these](http://whatthebuckybarnes.tumblr.com/post/148217443080/i-just-have-so-many-questions-about-sulu-and) lovely prompts and allowing me to write this story. Please go check out her blog, she's super sweet and has an amazing blog.


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